The National Statistical Office out of Korea reported last Sunday, that at-home dads in their country has risen to 151,000, 40% more over the last three years. One statistic that stood out were the women were getting more jobs (507,000) then the men (428,000).

Looking at other countries, I decided to use Google maps to track all the stats, research, blogs and relevant news world wide. Above is my first weak effort with just a few countries. (click the map to get it jump started) I will put more info in there as it comes in. In the future you can get to this map by clicking the statistic link on the top of this screen. You can also transfer it to google earth by clicking the KML link on the larger map

If you have any info to share, or would like to see any other information posted on the map, let me know. - pete

Five brand new reasons why you are not an at-home dad.Topic: Census FiguresI came home from the children

The
media came a calling today wanting to know why there are only 98,000 at-home
dads left in America. The census released a new
report this afternoon which included a 98,000 number that was actually released
two months ago from 2003 numbers. The number was down from last years 105,000
stat from their June
2003 report (these numbers are from actual March 2002 data, Are you
still following me here daddy?). I'm sure you are a little confused and I'm sure
part of it stems from me using too many run-on sentences in my rush to throw this
out. In any case most reporters (with the exception of those of the caliber of Marilyn Gardner at the Christian Science Monitor) who report on these press releases stop reading
them at the 98,000 number and the inevitable headline "MR. MOM GOES BACK
TO WORK!" may be shouted to us in tomorrow's USA Today. I tried
to explain that a difference of 8,000 dads is statistically meaningless, the
98,000 number even more so because it excludes dads at-home full or part time
(1.4 million), dads with wives who didn't work the entire 52 weeks (besides sick
days, ect), and single fathers to name a few. Of course those in the know
realize this is old news.

The new
news is that In today's report the census has come up with 5 brand new reasons
why you may not be an at-home dad. Please deduct the following dads.

ill or
Disabled (455,000 dads)

Retired
(108,000 dads)

Going
to School (90,000 dads)

Could
not find work (111,000 dads)

Other
(157,000 dads) (What are these other dads doing? I'd like to see
another break down on this..)

Include
these dads in and you have 1 million dads easy... and we haven't even touched
the dads who work at-home.

In the
last ten years, I have talked to just about every type of dad that has been
excluded by the census who consider themselves an at-home dad. They don't seem
to love and care for their kids any less then the dad who says on a census form
that they "wanted to be home to care for home and family".
As the census explains in today's report "Estimates of the numbers of stay
at-home fathers caring for children under 15 are based not on the parents
activities as childcare providers but rather on the primary reason they were not
in the labor force for the previous 52 weeks." So the number starts at
about 2 million working and non-working at-home dads, then when all the criteria
is met we end up with the 98,000 figure. With the same formula the number
of at-home moms are estimated to be 5.4 million. Go figure.

Update: USA
Today was the first out of the gate this morning with the headline:Census:
5.4 million mothers are choosing to stay at home with a short
tidbit on the US Census report. Reporter Sharon Jayson did
manage to get one quote for the dads from David Molina, an at-home dad to twins
near Phoenix, who tried working but stayed home "It was not worth it,"
he said. "It was a rat race. It got to the point where both of us were
having to stay later at work than we could and we would call each other at 4:45
and say for the other to pick up the kids."

Update #2: Peter
Grier and Sara
B. Miller of the Christion Science Monitor chime in on the Incredible
shrinking US family and the 98K number "The Census Bureau
judges that there are only 98,000 true stay-at-home dads in the whole country,
despite the number of cinematic depictions of fathers who lose their jobs and
find happiness ferrying kids to school and constructing art out of toilet-paper
rolls" ....

Note: Right in middle of the same article while discussing households
the Monitor had a blog moment by writing "Sponges living by
themselves in a pineapple were statistically insignificant and thus were not
included in the Census figures. That would be "SpongeBob SquarePants,"
a Nickelodeon production"